This article describes results from research into business to business (B2B) digital marketing, offering understanding of how budgets are being used. View Summary

This article describes results from research into business to business (B2B) digital marketing, offering understanding of how budgets are being used. Websites, email and social media account for the most spend, but over three years marketers have begun to spread budgets more widely. There is recognition that a broader range of channels contribute to the buyer journey meaning assets must be reused across these. Websites have lost budget, with this moving to video, social and mobile. From the buyers' point of view, search is most important when identifying and researching suppliers whilst social media is less important. SEO is argued to be most effective in raising awareness, whilst email and social media are important in building relationships. Mobile spend is rising but many B2B marketers feel it is unproven or difficult to create material for.

2

B2B marketing: Prototype the brand idea

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Allen Adamson, Admap, April 2014, pp. 33-35

This article discusses the challenge business to business (B2B) brands face in delivering their brand promise as this is dependent on staff on the front line, and proposes 'prototyping' brands as a solution. View Summary

This article discusses the challenge business to business (B2B) brands face in delivering their brand promise as this is dependent on staff on the front line, and proposes 'prototyping' brands as a solution. The market moves quickly with first mover advantage difficult to achieve and consumers having greater control over what they see. Brand building, however, continues to follow a formulaic approach that can easily become unwieldy. Developing a prototype brand - whereby the idea and the implementation are developed alongside each other - is suggested as a solution. This approach brings ideas to life for decision makers, helping them to understand relative benefits of ideas and the full implications of implementation. An example of prototyping brand ideas is given from a financial services company, where several ideas were tested in-market.

3

B2B marketing: Humanise the B2B brand

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Jeremy Katz and Andy Jones, Admap, April 2014, pp. 24-26

This article discusses the need to humanise business to business (B2B) brands, in light of research which suggests many decision makers choose suppliers based on personal value. View Summary

This article discusses the need to humanise business to business (B2B) brands, in light of research which suggests many decision makers choose suppliers based on personal value. The impact of emotion on supplier choice is exacerbated by purchasing structure changes which mean C-suite executives are increasingly making decisions about technology purchases that they know little about. Examples of work by GE, the multinational giant, IBM, the technology company, and DuPont, the corporate solutions business, are given to illustrate how B2B brands can take a more humanised approach. Instead of promoting their products' features and benefits, these companies are now using content and storytelling to communicate brand values.

4

What works where in the US: Digital benchmarking research 2013

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Research on Warc, Omobono, October 2013

This report shares best practice in business to business (B2B) digital marketing in the US market, based on a survey of over 80 US marketers. View Summary

This report shares best practice in business to business (B2B) digital marketing in the US market, based on a survey of over 80 US marketers. B2B marketers are using an increasing number of channels to reach potential customers, and now allocate 42% of budget to digital. Of the digital budget, greatest spend is on corporate website development, email marketing and social media. Thought leadership, customer relationships and brand awareness are prioritised as objectives, with different channels thought to be more effective for each of these. Mobile marketing is argued to be a missed opportunity, as research shows it has a strong ROI but limited B2B investment.

5

What works where in the UK: Digital benchmarking research 2013

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Research on Warc, Omobono, October 2013

This report discusses business to business (B2B) digital marketing in the UK, based on a survey of 109 marketers. View Summary

This report discusses business to business (B2B) digital marketing in the UK, based on a survey of 109 marketers. The report covers marketers' objectives, digital solutions and their views of effectiveness, and then places these findings in the context of new audience reach requirements, challenges created by new technologies, and the UK marketers' position in global strategy. Findings include that UK marketers continue to prioritise the objective of deepening customer relationships. The most digital spend is allocated to corporate website development, email marketing and social media, and it is found that marketers with bigger digital budgets spend more on mobile. The effectiveness of each digital channel is also assessed.

6

Business to business: What's different about B2B marketing?

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Laurie Young, Market Leader, Quarter 2, 2012, pp. 40-43

When marketers who are experienced in the fmcg sector change to the world of B2B, many find it unnervingly different and difficult. View Summary

When marketers who are experienced in the fmcg sector change to the world of B2B, many find it unnervingly different and difficult. This article explains how to get to grips with marketing to other businesses. B2B marketing is as much about people and understanding the desires of human beings as consumer markets, even though organisations are involved. Key differences are highlighted in market size, frequency of purchase, and the presence of a more formal buying group. It is also important to note that many B2B companies lack marketing competence, which may require early investment to overcome. Marketers will need to learn the language and culture of the new sector. A checklist of action points is included.

The biopharmaceutical industry is pretty poor at evaluating promotional effectiveness despite spending almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development - more than $12 billion a year in the US alone. View Summary

The biopharmaceutical industry is pretty poor at evaluating promotional effectiveness despite spending almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development - more than $12 billion a year in the US alone. However there is some sound, peer-reviewed evidence on the efficacy or different promotional instruments in the sector, which are summarised in this best practice paper.

8

Warc Briefing: SMEs

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Warc Exclusive, November 2010

This briefing offers an overview of the history, theories and key trends related to marketing to SMEs. View Summary

This briefing offers an overview of the history, theories and key trends related to marketing to SMEs. It outlines evidence for the view that SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) are a discrete segment which require tailored communications. It discusses distinctive patterns in the decision-making process that are typical of this group. Marketers are advised to research this group particularly well, understand their motivations clearly and incorporate peer-to-peer elements into their campaigns. Case studies by Xerox, Sprint, OfficeMax and SAP are recommended for further reading.

9

Marketing the work of engineers: technology as a service

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Laurie Young, Market Leader, Quarter 3, 2010, pp. 42-46

In a world where added value services increasingly dominate, why is the marketing of technology services so underdeveloped, particularly in the B2B sector? Very little has been said about marketers who routinely deal with the work of engineers. View Summary

In a world where added value services increasingly dominate, why is the marketing of technology services so underdeveloped, particularly in the B2B sector? Very little has been said about marketers who routinely deal with the work of engineers. Yet they include some of the largest and most famous businesses in the world, such as IBM, BT, Ericsson and Virgin. However, with the advent of significant new concepts such as ‘cloud computing’, and radical changes in the engineering of some utilities, leading firms are turning their attention to services. Some leading technology companies are now showing how important it is to engineer real magic into value propositions, with Apple being the obvious example.

10

Using the repertory grid to access the underlying realities in key account relationships

This paper examines a variety of examples of repertory grid research to assess how and why the technique is used. View Summary

This paper examines a variety of examples of repertory grid research to assess how and why the technique is used. In particular, the authors focus on the strengths and weaknesses of using the repertory grid to explore the nature of close business-to-business relationships. Compared with the more frequently used technique of qualitative depth interviews, differences were found which suggest that further research is needed to identify what really drives supplier-buyer interdependence. The research indicates the value of the repertory grid in exploring topics that are not well defined and to identify the way that business decision-makers are making sense of their work environment.